NOTE: Yesterday, I received an invitation to attend
a Hob Nob; a political event sponsored by a specific group, typically a Chamber
of Commerce or political organization, where all political candidates are invited to purchase a table to
show their campaign material and present themselves to the members of that
organization and to the public, which may attend by purchasing a ticket. The following is my email response to the
organizers of the event.
Hello Mr. XXXX,
Thank you
for the invitation to participate in the YYYY Chamber of Commerce Political Hob
Nob. I appreciate the opportunity, but
must humbly and respectfully decline.
Please allow me to explain.
I am not a
Politician, but I am a Candidate for the position of U.S. Representative,
Florida Congressional District 9. As a
person new to the political environment, I have learned a lot, of which much
has not been pleasant. I am a person of
integrity and believe in We The People and the U.S. Constitution. I also believe that an informed voter
is critical to the future and success of our country. Far too often elections are influenced by Big
Money donors who have some expectation that their big money donation will be
remembered – and these expectations are well-founded. And also too often, a candidate has an allegiance
to a political party, which is greater than the candidate’s allegiance to We
The People, the everyday working American.
At the start of the campaign process I attended several Hob Nobs, paying
$275 and more for a table. Most of the
attendees were politically oriented and there were not too many everyday
working people in attendance. Because of
the cost, and because of the lack of everyday working people, I decided not to
attend any more Hob Nobs. It was strictly a cost-benefit analysis. My two
competitors for Congress have raised $1.9M and $300,000. For them, to pay your registration fee of
$495 is not a problem. I have raised
$320.00 during my campaign, which is less than the cost your Hob Nob table
– this is cost-prohibitive for me.
Perhaps you might think that I am inconsequential because I have not
raised an amount commensurate with that of my competitors. Perhaps you believe that big money should
determine who wins an election. Perhaps
you don’t believe that skill, knowledge and experience is more important than
money. Perhaps you believe that a combat
military veteran should not hold a public office. Perhaps you believe that Hob
Nob income generation is more important than helping the group you represent
become better informed voters. I don’t
know. What I do know is that I have not
asked for any money and that I consider honor and integrity to be an important
criteria, which our politicians should possess. Sadly, most politicians spend a
lot of effort attacking the creditability of the opposing candidate and not
enough time addressing the issues of most concern to the everyday working
people.
It is a logical
objective to support the group you are representing and you would want to have
all the political candidates present. Therefore, to encourage this, there
should not be a registration fee for political candidates. However, if part of your objective is for the
Hob Nob to be a money raising event, then this is understandable. In this case, the generation of income is
more important than helping your group become better informed voters.
I have
noted your Hob Nob on my calendar and if I attend, it will be with a campaign sign
in my hand, standing outside on the sidewalk to the entrance of your Hob Nob
event. This will be my small effort to
help promote better informed voters.
Best
Wishes,
Marko
Milakovich
Citizen
Warrior
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